Earlier this week, Lena Dunham made a comment that she wishes she'd had an abortion, and much of the internet is ready to drag her for it.
In her podcast, Dunham recalls a time when a woman asked her to share her abortion story while she was advocating for reproductive rights outside of a Planned Parenthood clinic. Dunham made it clear that she had not had an abortion and was simply promoting the idea that women should have the right to choose. She concludes the anecdote by saying, "Now I can say that I still haven’t had an abortion, but I wish I had."
After much backlash, Dunham has taken back her statement, calling it a “distasteful joke.” Dunham went to Instagram to clarify the intent of her podcast, explaining that it was meant to discuss reproductive choice in America and bodily autonomy.
Dunham apologized, saying, “My words were spoken from a sort of ‘delusional girl’ persona I often inhabit, a girl who careens between wisdom and ignorance (that's what my TV show is too) and it didn't translate. That's my fault. I would never, ever intentionally trivialize the emotional and physical challenges of terminating a pregnancy.”
We’re glad that she took the time to apologize for her words, but we're not sure how this qualifies as a "distasteful joke." No matter your stance on reproductive rights, having an abortion is something that changes many women’s lives and should be respected as such.